MUSKEGON, MI – Gun violence and gun-related crime has been much in the news lately, both locally and on the national level.

Monday’s mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard brought the subject back to the forefront. The massacre Sept. 16 left 13 dead, including the shooter, former Navy reservist Aaron Alexis.

In West Michigan, recent news has included the tragic death of Michigan State Police trooper Paul Butterfield, shot in the head the evening of Sept. 9 after he made what seemed to be a routine traffic stop near Custer in Mason County. Luther-area resident Eric John Knysz, 19, has been charged with Butterfield’s murder and other crimes, including two gun felonies.

On July 9, a street-fight-turned-shooting on Muskegon’s Monroe Avenue ended with Alexis Antonio Brown dead and Carmesha Rogers critically wounded in the head. Prosecutors later concluded Brown was justifiably shot “in defense of others” after he raised two handguns toward three men engaged in a fist fight, and that Brown himself shot Rogers as he sprayed bullets while falling.

In the Monroe Avenue case, prosecutors said Brown, a convicted felon, possessed his guns illegally. Multiple defendants at the scene also have been charged with a variety of gun crimes, including felon in possession of firearms.

Another recent case in the news was the July 13 break-in at Grasmeyer Guns in Dalton Township. Two-dozen semiautomatic firearms were reported stolen – four rifles and 20 pistols. All of the stolen rifles but only five of the handguns were recovered, leaving 15 unaccounted for. A surveillance video and cooperation among multiple local, county, state and federal police agencies led to the arrest of two Grand Haven men, now facing federal gun charges.

Opinions on what to do about gun violence and other gun-related crimes vary widely.

Some advocate stricter gun laws, while gun-control opponents point out that much gun crime involves illegally obtained weapons anyway, and say human behavior – not guns – is the problem.

Some advocate stricter penalties for violation of existing laws.

Some blame cultural influences and advocate moral reform or a societal crackdown on violent music lyrics and videos.